Item:
ON9837

Original U.S. Evans 1877 New Model .44 Caliber Repeating Military "Musket" to Sporting Rifle Conversion

Item Description

Original Item: One Only. Invented by Warren R. Evans of Thomaston, Maine production started in 1873 by "Evans Rifle Manufacturing Company of Mechanic Falls, Maine." Only 15,000 Evans firearms were manufactured in a six year period and then the company declared bankruptcy in 1879, a victim of the Post Civil War arms industry glut and stiff competition.

The amazing thing about the Evans system was the THIRTY FOUR round tubular magazine housed in the butt. If the Spencer was said to be the carbine you loaded on Sunday and shot all week, the Evans you could shoot for a whole month! It worked on the Archimedean screw theory of four separate ammunition channels, which revolved each time the lever was activate and the gun reloaded. It appeared it was a certainty for Military approval but the system was non accepted based on interference from accumulated dust. The original caliber was .44" and the cartridges were were approximately one inch long, referred to as ".44 Evans short."

Several models were produced, known to collectors as the "Old Model", the "Transitional Model," and the "New Model". The old model had no lower stock on the butt, which made the rifle difficult to hold and aim. The transitional model introduced a butt stock and new butt plate. Requests for a more powerful cartridge led to the development of the "New Model", which fired a longer .44" cartridge called the ".44 New Model", which was 1 1/2 inches long. Due to the longer cartridge, the magazine capacity was reduced from 34 to 28 rounds. A dust cover for the ejection port was also introduced, to avoid dirt getting into the magazine.

The majority of Evans repeaters produced were of the "New Model", and around 3000 were produced in the "Military Musket" configuration, which had a 30 inch round barrel and full fore end retained by barrel bands. Many of these were later converted to the "Sporting Rifle" configuration, and this is one such example. Original produced Evans "Sporting Rifles" have octagonal barrels, not round barrels.

The barrel on this example is marked:

EVANS REPEATING RIFLE. MECHANIC FALLS ME. PAT. DEC.8,1868 & SEPT.16,1871

This rifle is in nice condition, and has been fully cleaned and restored. The action functions, and you can see the rotating magazine through the ejection port. The bore is somewhat worn with a dull finish, but lands and grooves are visible with no bulges or major damage.  The metalwork is good, with just some small traces of pitting. The stocks are in good condition, with some of the checkering still present on the foregrip. The butt stock has some old repairs, but is solid and looks great.

  • This product is not available for shipping in US state(s): New Jersey

    This product is available for international shipping.
  • Not eligible for payment with Paypal or Amazon

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